Beijing to US: End microphone diplomacy over South China Sea

The United States must give up “microphone diplomacy” over issues related to the South China Sea and cyber security and should instead seek to resolve differences through mutual respect and real dialogue, a senior Chinese diplomat said.

“Resorting to microphone diplomacy, or pointing fingers at each other, will not solve any problems,” Wu Xi, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Individual issues should not be allowed to overshadow the overall US-China relationship, she was quoted as saying at a meeting held in Washington to mark the 10th anniversary of the US-China Working Group.

Common interests, including bilateral trade volume of US$550 billion last year, “far outweigh” differences between the countries, the diplomat said.

“The right choice is to recognize our differences, respect each other and engage in real dialogue,” she said.

Wu said the two sides should use the annual meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue from June 22-24 “to articulate the outcome and deliverables” for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s September visit to Washington.

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